The association between social networks and functional recovery after stroke.

Background And Purpose: Social determinants of health (SDOH), including social networks, impact disability and quality of life post-stroke, yet the direct influence of SDOH on functional change remains undetermined. We aimed to identify which SDOH predict change on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) within 90 days after stroke hospitalization.

Methods: Stroke patients from the Transitions of Care Stroke Disparities Study (TCSDS) were enrolled from 12 hospitals in the Florida Stroke Registry.

Ten-Year Review of Antihypertensive Prescribing Practices After Stroke and the Associated Disparities From the Florida Stroke Registry.

Background: Guideline-based hypertension management is integral to the prevention of stroke. We examine trends in antihypertensive medications prescribed after stroke and assess how well a prescriber's blood pressure (BP) medication choice adheres to clinical practice guidelines (BP-guideline adherence).

Methods And Results: The FSR (Florida Stroke Registry) uses statewide data prospectively collected for all acute stroke admissions.

Semi-supervised learning for industrial fault detection and diagnosis: A systemic review.

The automation of Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) is a central task for many industries today. A myriad of methods are in use, although the most recent leading contenders are data-driven approaches and especially Machine Learning (ML) methods. ML algorithms fall into two main categories: supervised and unsupervised methods, depending on whether or not the instances are labeled with the expected outputs.

A 10-year review of antihypertensive prescribing practices after stroke and the associated disparities from the Florida Stroke Registry.

Background: Guideline based hypertension management is integral to the prevention of stroke. We examine trends in antihypertensive medications prescribed after stroke and assess how well a prescribers' blood pressure medication choice adheres to clinical practice guidelines (Prescribers'-Choice Adherence).

Methods: The Florida Stroke registry (FSR) utilizes statewide data prospectively collected for all acute stroke admissions.

Nationally Certified Stroke Centers Outperform Self-Attested Stroke Centers in the Florida Stroke Registry.

Background: The Florida Stroke Act, signed into law in 2004, set criteria for Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSC). For a set time period, Florida hospitals were permitted to either receive national certification (NC) or could self-attest (SA) as fulfilling CSC criteria. The aim of this project was to evaluate the quality of ischemic stroke care in NC versus SA stroke centers in Florida, using well-known, guideline-driven ischemic stroke outcome metrics.

Virtual Reality for Learning.

The consumer age of the Personal Computer and mobile devices has opened up a new world of opportunities for innovative teaching methodologies, many based on serious games and virtual worlds. Similar levels of market penetration are expected for the use of Immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) over upcoming decades, once all the core technologies for game engines and head-mounted displays are available on the market at affordable prices. In this chapter, a general overview of the state of the art of iVR learning experiences is presented.

Association of Acute Alteration of Consciousness in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke With Outcomes and Early Withdrawal of Care.

Background And Objectives: Early consciousness disorder (ECD) after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is understudied. ECD may influence outcomes and the decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment.

Methods: We studied patients with AIS from 2010 to 2019 across 122 hospitals participating in the Florida Stroke Registry.

Immersive virtual-reality computer-assembly serious game to enhance autonomous learning.

Unlabelled: Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments create a very strong sense of presence and immersion. Nowadays, especially when student isolation and online autonomous learning is required, such sensations can provide higher satisfaction and learning rates than conventional teaching. However, up until the present, learning outcomes with VR tools have yet to prove their advantageous aspects over conventional teaching.

Awareness, Prevention, Detection, and Therapy Applications for Depression and Anxiety in Serious Games for Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review.

Background: Depression and anxiety in children and adolescents are major health problems worldwide. In recent years, serious games research has advanced in the development of tools to address these mental health conditions. However, there has not been an extensive analysis of these games, their tendencies, and capacities.

Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment Mediates Mortality in Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage With Impaired Consciousness.

Background And Purpose: Impaired level of consciousness (LOC) on presentation at hospital admission in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) may affect outcomes and the decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment (WOLST).

Methods: Patients with ICH were included across 121 Florida hospitals participating in the Florida Stroke Registry from 2010 to 2019. We studied the effect of LOC on presentation on in-hospital mortality (primary outcome), WOLST, ambulation status on discharge, hospital length of stay, and discharge disposition.

Analytical Validation of Two Point-of-Care Assays for Serum Amyloid A Measurements in Cats.

Serum Amyloid A (SAA) is one of the most sensitive tests to detect inflammation in cats. In this study, two point-of-care assays for SAA measurements in cats (FUJI DRI-CHEM IMMUNO AU CARTRIDGE vf-SAA (method A), and CUBE-VET analyser (Method B), were analytically evaluated. Regarding the imprecision precision only the method A showed intra-assay and inter-assay CV < 10% at all concentrations.

Risk Assessment of Ozone Fumigation Under Vacuum to Control Potential Infestation of Coffee Berry Borer and Coffee Leaf Rust in Green Coffee Beans Imported Into Hawaii.

Studies were conducted with ozone gas fumigation under vacuum as a methyl bromide alternative against life stages of coffee berry borer (CBB) Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), and the urediniospores of coffee leaf rust (CLR), Hemileia vastatrix Berkeley & Broome (Basidiomycota: Pucciniales) in green coffee, Coffea spp. L. Fumigation with 10,000 ppm O3 gas under -25.

Effect of Race-Ethnicity and CT Angiography on Renal Injury During Blood Pressure Treatment for Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Background: Lowering blood pressure intensively in acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with adverse renal events; Blacks and Hispanics have a higher incidence of ICH and kidney disease than Whites. In addition, CT angiography (CTA), which may also be associated with acute kidney injury (AKI), is often done in acute ICH. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between aggressive BP management, CTA, race-ethnicity and the risk of developing AKI in patients presenting with ICH.

Comparing feeling of competence regarding humanistic caring in Belgian nurses and nursing students: A comparative cross-sectional study conducted in a French Belgian teaching hospital.

Aim: The aim of the study was to describe and compare feeling of competence regarding humanistic caring in Registered Nurses (RN) and nursing students (NS).

Design: A quantitative comparative cross-sectional research design was used.

Methods: A convenience sample of 196 RN and 47 NS in a teaching hospital in Belgium completed a self-administered questionnaire composed of a sociodemographic survey and the Caring Nurse-Patient Interactions Scale (CNPI-23) developed by Cossette et al.

Randomized Trial of Combined Aerobic, Resistance, and Cognitive Training to Improve Recovery From Stroke: Feasibility and Safety.

Background Physical exercise and cognitive training have been recommended to improve cognitive outcomes poststroke, but a multifaceted strategy including aerobic, resistance, and cognitive training to facilitate poststroke recovery has not been investigated. We aimed to assess the feasibility, adherence, and safety of a combined aerobic, resistance, and cognitive training intervention (CARET+CTI) after stroke. Methods and Results We prospectively randomized patients presenting with recent stroke to a comparison of a supervised 12-week CARET+CTI program and a control group receiving sham CARET+CTI.

Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Linguistic Validation of the FACE-Q Questionnaire for Brazilian Portuguese.

Background: Patient-reported outcomes measurement instruments (PRO) are a good way to measure results after aesthetic procedures. FACE-Q is a systematized and standardized PRO tool and was not available in Portuguese.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included four stages: translation of FACE-Q, backtranslation, testing in patients who underwent facial aesthetic procedures and review of the questionnaires between September and December, 2018.

A regression-tree multilayer-perceptron hybrid strategy for the prediction of ore crushing-plate lifetimes.

Highly tensile manganese steel is in great demand owing to its high tensile strength under shock loads. All workpieces are produced through casting, because it is highly difficult to machine. The probabilistic aspects of its casting, its variable composition, and the different casting techniques must all be considered for the optimisation of its mechanical properties.

[The humanistic partnership model in health care].

The humanistic partnership model in health care has been jointly developed by nursing professionals and partner patients. In line with the evolution of our society and nursing thinking, it provides a new implementation of the discipline's core concepts and invites professionals and partner patients to "move together towards" a co-constructed future which is recorded in the patient's life project.

Integrated Pest Management of Coffee Berry Borer: Strategies from Latin America that Could Be Useful for Coffee Farmers in Hawaii.

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is the primary arthropod pest of coffee plantations worldwide. Since its detection in Hawaii (September 2010), coffee growers are facing financial losses due to reduced quality of coffee yields. Several control strategies that include cultural practices, biological control agents (parasitoids), chemical and microbial insecticides (entomopathogenic fungi), and a range of post-harvest sanitation practices have been conducted to manage CBB around the world.

A randomised, double- blind, cross-over study investigating the prebiotic effect of agave fructans in healthy human subjects.

This placebo-controlled, randomised, double-blind, cross-over human feeding study aimed to determine the prebiotic effect of agave fructans. A total of thirty-eight volunteers completed this trial. The treatment consisted of 3 weeks' supplementation with 5 g/d of prebiotic agave fructan (Predilife) or equivalent placebo (maltodextrin), followed by a 2-week washout period following which subjects were crossed over to alternate the treatment arm for 3 weeks followed by a 2-week washout.

An SVM-based solution for fault detection in wind turbines.

Research into fault diagnosis in machines with a wide range of variable loads and speeds, such as wind turbines, is of great industrial interest. Analysis of the power signals emitted by wind turbines for the diagnosis of mechanical faults in their mechanical transmission chain is insufficient. A successful diagnosis requires the inclusion of accelerometers to evaluate vibrations.

Prevalence of vertebral artery origin stenosis and occlusion in outpatient extracranial ultrasonography.

Background And Purpose: Most data on the prevalence of vertebral artery origin (VAo) disease is derived from hospital-based studies of patients with posterior circulation strokes and TIA. The prevalence of VAo disease in patients without posterior circulation symptoms or asymptomatic patients is poorly characterized. Our objective was to examine the prevalence of VAo stenosis and occlusion in consecutive patients, presenting for extracranial ultrasonography to an outpatient laboratory.

Prevalence of vertebral artery origin stenosis and occlusion in outpatient extracranial ultrasonography.

Background And Purpose: Vertebral artery origin stenosis prevalence. Most data on the prevalence of vertebral artery origin (VAo) disease is derived from hospital-based studies of patients with posterior circulation strokes and TIA. The prevalence of VAo disease in patients without posterior circulation symptoms or asymptomatic patients is poorly characterized.

A virtual sensor for online fault detection of multitooth-tools.

The installation of suitable sensors close to the tool tip on milling centres is not possible in industrial environments. It is therefore necessary to design virtual sensors for these machines to perform online fault detection in many industrial tasks. This paper presents a virtual sensor for online fault detection of multitooth tools based on a bayesian classifier.

Botcinolide/botcinin: asymmetric synthesis of the key fragments.

The asymmetric synthesis of key fragments of the phytotoxic toxins botcinolide/botcinin is reported. The synthesis of 1 and 1a are based on a convergent route via esterification and alkene metathesis of fragments A, B or C, B, which were obtained by Evans aldol condensation and stereoselective crotylation, respectively.